"Gadgets Will Be Our Demise"
By Capt. Fred Davis
Published: Friday, January 11, 2013









I heard things are changing for the better. Better than what? Electronics are changing so fast you may as well throw them away after you get them home from the store because they are obsolete.

Just about the time you have your computer figured out — it changes itself whether you like it or not. I guess they have to keep changing electronics so the hackers have a new test every week or so.

If the inventors of the new electronics would require fingerprint passwords perhaps hackers could be caught before they entered a system. Those who steal credit cards would also have to leave a fingerprint to hack into an account and the only way they could get out, without being caught, would be to pay off the outstanding balance or make a sizeable deposit. Now there is a challenge for the electronic geeks.

Today’s electronic marvels are almost beyond belief. The system of storage in the clouds (G-mail, C-cloud) worries me, however. What happens if my mail winds up in a rain cloud? Will all my information I stored in the cloud come back soggy? My luck with these new gadgets would lead to my cloud information arriving back wet and ruining my computer. If that happened, I would not get the message about how to avoid the problem.

Satellite radio systems can be a pain. If you receive a bill for service, it will be a set amount plus $2 for the invoice. If you try to call a representative that speaks English, several calls will have to be made. Once you reach someone who understands your language, you may be able to negotiate your current bill and get a reduction but that will generate a new invoice and another $2 charge. If you don’t request an invoice, you cannot prove what your charge was or if they received payment. If you request receipt for your payment, yep, another $2 charge.

As I see it, electronics will be our demise. Electronic cash registers are a good example. Try this: if you owe a bill of $15.45, hand a cashier two $10 dollar bills, a quarter a dime and two nickels. Don’t do this unless you have extra time on your hands to wait for the cashier to figure out what you gave them and why the machine tells them to give you $5. Just check the look on their face. We can only guess how they handle a math class — if there are still any of them being taught.

Here is an idea for a new electronic device for your home safe. If a safe-cracker tries to enter the wrong combination, the device would activate a camera that takes the thief’s photo. If the thief tries to de-activate the camera, the door to the room where the safe cracking is taking place would automatically lock and a loud siren would begin to wail. The only problem I can anticipate with my invention is it may increase the unemployment lines.

I keep marveling at the electronics designed for our new cars. Those that sense rain drops and turn on the wipers and others that turn on headlights at the hint of dusk. Some of them will go from bright to dim when sensing oncoming traffic. The gadget that moves your seat to your preferred position when you start the engine is so convenient, but the one that really throws me is the automatic gauge that reports the pressure in each tire, excluding the spare.

If you have a new car with all the extras you likely have a built-in GPS. Once you learn to use it, you can find your way home from anywhere, however it does have its drawbacks. You can’t tell your wife you made a wrong turn and got lost on the way home. In fact, if she knows how to operate the GPS, she will tell you where you made the wrong turn and that could mean trouble.

I could continue with the list of new gadgets but I have to go figure out how to use the iPad my kids got us for Christmas. Just refer to my first paragraph, you’ll get the drift.

 

 

 

Return to Home Page of Tipsforboating.com

 

Copyright © Fred Davis. All rights reserved.